elecTONIC

Radio rant + Power preview

// September 19th, 2009 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

One of the biggest problems I have with commercial dance radio – heck, all commerical music radio – is the fact that a majority of radio DJs (especially big-name ones) think that we are more interested in hearing their mindless blather than the tracks underneath. A large percentage of those have really annoying speaking voices. And a select few like to choose the absolute worst moments to jump in and spew some meaningless crap.

A good example would be British DJs Jaymo & Andy George, who filled in on Friday for Kissy Sell Out on BBC’s Radio 1. The highlight of the program was a little 20-minute minimix by the amazing Boys Noize, which included 4 tracks off his upcoming second album, Power, as well as pair of soon to be released remixes by Modeselektor and Para One of his track Jeffer.

This would have been a momentous occasion if it weren’t for the ridiculous chatter of Jaymo and Andy, who picked absolutely abysmal times to come in just to say how awesome the mix is (including the climaxing end of Starter and midway through the Modeselektor remix). We don’t need you guys to tell us how amazing the tracks are, we can hear them for ourselves. Sheesh.

Anyway, even with the annoying commentary (and obligatory station adverts), the 20-minute mix shows how great of a producer Boys Noize is, and makes the wait for Power (which comes out Oct. 6 in the US) even harder. Download it here.

The death of 92.7

// September 14th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Uncategorized

Now it’s official. Energy 92.7 is now Rev 92.7. One of the best sources the Bay Area had for dance music is now, alas, a Top 40 Station. As if there wasn’t enough of them already. Now we’ll have to rely on Hype Machine, Pandora, and each other for getting our daily dose of the good stuff.

I’d like to dedicate this post to sharing some of my favorite tracks the station played, as sort of a eulogy. Feel free to add comments about your own personal favorites.

I’ll admit during the daytime the playlist was a bit iffy; the station often would play far too many remixes of pop songs (ironic considering the buyout). Occasionally, however, they would be quite good, as in this remix of P!nk [edited to fit the original extremely weird music video]:

But we all know dance music is better at night, and after 6 pm the station would become an electronica lover’s paradise. DJs like Kid Loose and Trevor Simpson would spin an impressive range of stuff, from standard fare from station favorite Kaskade:

to more indie fare, like this MSTRKFT remix:

My all-time favorite track would have to be this surprisingly hard to find gem (the only HQ version I’ve been able to find was off the Ultra Dance 08 compilation). Devoted listeners should know this one quite well.

We’re going to miss all you guys at Energy. (Except Fernando and Greg; you guys can be pretty annoying.)

~Inter